The present invention relates generally to signal acquisition probes and more particularly to signal acquisition probing systems using a micro-cavity laser.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,982,405 teaches a Q-switched micro-cavity laser having a first resonant cavity consisting of a gain medium disposed between two optically reflective mirrors. A second optical resonant cavity is formed by two partially reflective mirrors and is physically and optically coupled to the first resonant cavity. The first resonant cavity will lase when pumped by an external optical source. The reflectivity of the intermediate mirror common to the first and second cavities as seen by the gain medium of the first resonant cavity looking toward the second resonant cavity is determined by the resonant modes of the second resonant cavity. It is therefore possible to prevent or permit the gain medium to lase by adjusting the second resonant cavity such that the resonances of the second cavity causes either low reflectivity of the common mirror, which prevents lasing, or high reflectivity in the common mirror, which induces lasing.
The '405 patent teaches a number of embodiments for varying the second resonant cavity. Of particular interest to the present invention, the second resonant cavity of formed of an electro-optic material disposed between the two partially reflective mirrors with two opposing electrodes disposed adjacent to the electro-optic material. Applying an electric field across the electro-optic material changes the index of refraction of the material, which varies the reflectivity of the intermediate mirror as seem by the gain medium in the gain cavity. This results in the micro-cavity laser generating a train of optical pulses that are dependent on the applied electrical field across the electro-optic material. The '405 patent also teaches that the second resonant cavity need not affect the gain cavity so much that the lasing is turned on or off. Instead, the resonant cavity can be used to modulate the intensity of the light produced by the gain medium.
A paper titled “Rapidly Tunable Millimeter-Wave Optical Transmitter for Lidar-Radar” by Y. Li, A. J. C. Vieira, S. M. Goldwasser and P. R. Herczfeld teaches the use of two electro-optical mono-mode micro-chip laser sections formed on a single composite crystal for producing a rapidly tunable millimeter wave optical transmitter. The side-by-side micro-chip lasers are formed with a Nd:YVO4 gain medium resonant cavity and a MgO:LiNbO3 electro-optic resonant cavity. The micro-chip lasers are optically pumped by independent 808 nm high power laser diodes. Electrodes are deposited on opposing sides of each of the electro-optic resonant cavities. A DC voltage is applied to one of the electrodes of one of the electro-optic resonant cavities, which changes the wavelength of the optical output with respect to the other micro-chip laser. The optical output of the micro-chip lasers are heterodyned resulting a tunable beat frequency range of 45 GHz with a voltage sensitivity of 10.6 MHz/V. The transmitter was set at an 8 GHZ bias point using a phase lock loop. A 10 MHZ, 18V peak-to-peak ramp signal is applied to one of the micro-chip lasers. The signal was recovered and measured, which showed a frequency excursion of 190.8 MHz over a 50 ns time corresponding to a chirp rate of 3816 THz/sec. The reference concludes by indicating continuing efforts to increase the voltage sensitivity by reducing the crystal thickness and improving the electrical contacts.
The strength of the electric field distribution within the electro-optic material is a function of the distance between the opposing electrodes and the amplitude of the applied electrical signal. The strength of the electric field is the inverse of the distance separation of the electrodes. As the distance between the electrodes decreases, the strength of the electric field between them increases. As the distance decreases, the magnitude of the electrical signal can decrease to generate the same amount of change in the index of refraction.
Currently, the minimum overall dimensions of the electro-optic material used in optical devices and cavities is limited by the practical size at which the material can be handled resulting in electrodes that are positioned at a substantial distance from the optical path of the optical signal. This results in optical devices having low sensitivity to the applied electrical signal.
There is an increasing need in the electronics industry for measurement test equipment, such as oscilloscopes, logic analyzers and the like, to measure electrical signals in the gigahertz range. Correspondingly, there is a need for measurement instrument signal acquisition probes that have the signal bandwidth to acquire such high frequency signals. Generally gigahertz bandwidth signal acquisition probes have active circuitry in the probing head of the probe that receives the electrical signal via a metal probing tip extending from the end of the probing head. Extensive design work is required to minimize probe tip inductance and capacitance that affect the overall bandwidth of the probe. In addition, the dielectric constant of the probe head material also needs to be minimized for gigahertz differential signal acquisition probes. A further complication for gigahertz signal acquisition probe designs is the signal loss through the coaxial cable that couples the probing head to the measurement instrument.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,808,473, titled “Electric Signal Measurement Apparatus Using Electro-Optic Sampling by One Point Contact” describes an electro-optic sampling high-impedance probe exploiting the Pockels effect to rotate the polarization state of a light beam. The Pockels effect changes the birefringence of an electro-optic crystal by an amount that is proportional to an electric field inside the crystal. With the proper application of electrodes to the crystal surface, and their connection to conductive probing tips, the polarization rotation can be made to respond to a voltage on a device under test (DUT). The electro-optic sampling high-impedance probe receives polarization maintained laser pulses via a single mode polarization maintaining fiber. The laser pulses are coupled through bulk optic devices onto an electro-optic element having a reflective film on one end. A metal pin in the end of the signal probe head abuts the reflective film on the electro-optic element. The metal pin couples an electrical signal from a device under test to the electro-optic element which alters the birefringence of the electro-optic element in response to the electrical field of the signal causing the polarization state of the laser beam to change. The laser beam having the changed polarization state is reflected by the reflecting film and coupled through polarization beam splitters which convert the S and P polarized beams into an intensity change. The S and P polarized beams are coupled through respective condensing lenses onto respective slow germanium photodetectors that convert the optical beams into electrical signals. The electrical signals are coupled to a measurement instrument and detected by a differential amplifier.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,166,845 describes a modification to the above described electro-optic sampling high-impedance probe. Instead of coupling laser pulses via a single mode polarization maintaining fiber to the probe, a laser diode is incorporated into the probe itself. The laser diode generates a pulsed laser output in response to an input pulse chain from the measurement instrument. The probe contains the bulk optic devices, electro-optic element and photodetectors as previously described. The metal pin couples the electrical signal from a device under test to the electro-optic element which alters the birefringence of the electro-optic element in response to the electrical field of the signal causing the polarization state of the laser beam to change. The S and P polarized beams are coupled through the beam splitters and the condensing lenses onto the photodetectors. The photodetectors convert the intensity beams into electrical signals and couple the electrical signals to the measurement instrument.
A drawback to this type of probe is the size of the probing head due to the number of optical elements contained therein. Further, voltage and signal lines are required to couple the voltage power to the laser diode and photodetectors, couple the drive signal to the laser diode and to couple the outputs of the photodetectors to the measurement instrument.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,353,262 describes an ultrasound optical transducer that generates an optical signal the frequency of which varies in correspondence with acoustic energy incident on the transducer. The transducer includes a housing in which is disposed a signal laser. The signal laser is preferably a microchip laser, microcavity laser or the like. The signal laser has an optical cavity disposed between first and second reflectors and in which a lazing medium (also known as a gain crystal) is disposed. The reflectors are disposed on opposing plane-parallel surfaces of the lasing medium. An optical source injects an optical signal at a first frequency into the signal laser, which generates a second output signal at a second frequency. Acoustic energy impinging on the transducer causes the index of refraction of the optical cavity to change which in turn, causes the frequency of the signal laser to change. The frequency modulated optical signal from the signal laser is coupled to signal processing assembly that generates an output signal corresponding to the amplitude of the incident acoustic energy for use in imaging and analysis. An alternative embodiment is described where a piezoelectric device is positioned on the transducer for converting the acoustic energy into an electrical signal. The electrical signal is applied to electrodes on the signal laser. The electrical signal causes a change in the index of refraction of the optical cavity as a function of the acoustic energy applied to the piezoelectric device.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,590,090 describes an ultrasound optical transducer that generates an optical signal the frequency of which varies in correspondence with acoustic energy incident on the transducer. The transducer incorporates an electrically pumped vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) array. The cavity length of each laser or pixel of the array is modulated by the acoustic field at the point where the acoustic field contacts the pixels. The resulting laser output is frequency modulated by the acoustic field. The modulation is converted into amplitude modulation at the detector head and then wither detected with a charged couple device (CCD) array with the information being electrically communicated to a signal processing assembly or sent directly by optical fiber to the signal processing assembly.
What is needed is a signal acquisition probing system using a micro-cavity laser. The micro-cavity laser used in the signal acquisition probing system needs to provide greater sensitivity to an applied electrical signal to allow measurement small voltage signals.